Continuum Series 1 Episode 6 "Times Up" Review By @Rivergate31

Continuum
Series 1
Ep 6
Time’s Up
By Jeremy Smith and Jonathan Lloyd Walker
Reviewed By Lara Luke

As the protectors sort through the remains of a riot scene at a company called Piron, Kiera voices her disgust at Liber8. While the group sees itself as revolutionaries, she only sees vandals. Her opinions waver as she finds a box that one rioter had dropped and discovered it contained food. This led her to question why the food hadn’t been distributed as it was its purpose. Suddenly she has compassion on people stealing food, because they are starving. Questioning this, her partner, Elena, informs her that it’s best they don’t ask the hard questions. With Kiera’s response; “But if not us, then who?” it seems a seed of doubt has been planted. 

In 2012 the lines are further blurred. A demonstration in front of the local corporation, Exotrol, draws Kiera  and Carlos. Kiera cannot believe the local law enforcement allows such gatherings. Carlos explains a show of force can cause the situation to escalate.  In Kiera’s experience, they always escalate. As the crowd wants transparency with the business practices of the corporation, Liber8 takes full advantage of the situation. Recruiting a local group of young people and drawing Julien into the fold, the protest becomes violent. With mayhem on the loose, Liber8 is able to kidnap the CEO of the company, Henrietta Sherman. 

Kagame plants the anti corporation seeds into the hearts of Vancouver. Releasing a series of internet videos, Sherman is made out to be the bad guy in this scenario and in fact, does confess to stealing from her employees, painting the picture of the corrupt big business. 

A further wedge is driven between Alec and his step family. His step dad, upon listening to the news with the broadcast of the riot, lectures Alec on the evils of his “techno garbage.” He advises him to imitate Julien. Alec had just found Julien on a broadcast of the riot and in an act of resentment and frustration, rats him out. When Julien becomes aware of this he breaks all ties with Alec. 

Meanwhile, as the Vancouver Police Department search for the kidnapped CEO, Kiera has her first encounter with a horse. When Alec is amazed there are no horses in 2077, she replies that it is a long story. My wandering mind turns to the issues of today. With animal rights groups fighting hard to get laws passed even now that will lead to the eventual suspension of animal ownership altogether, it leaves me to wonder if they won. Or has Kiera never left the city and therefore never had the opportunity to see a horse first hand? Again, I like how today’s issues are not just written off in the future or ignored, but seem to have an outcome in this series. 

Kiera and Carlos eventually solve the puzzle of where Ms Sherman is held. They discover that her second in command was in bed with Liber8 and used to pull off the heist. This seems to be an almost irrelevant plot line to me and I was almost a little bored with their interactions.

 In my opinion, the main points to this episode are the split in Alec’s family over technology verses the grassroots movement to stop technology and the corporations driving it. Secondly, it shows Liber8’s desperation to stop the corporations’ rise to power before they even get started. This was a lesson, according to Kagame, to teach the public to think. Finally, Kiera seems to be, once again, questioning the belief’s she always held regarding the ideas behind Liber8. As she remembers the evening following the riots at Piron, she confides her thoughts to her husband. Greg confesses to knowing the company was stockpiling food to drive up prices. Noticing Kiera is visibly upset, he tells her she’s starting to sound like LIber8. 

Overall I thought this was a good episode. Liber8 is moving under Kagame’s leadership, toward his goals. How far will he go to see the Corporate Congress never see the light of day? Alec is placed into position to defend his life’s passion to his family, putting him further at odds with them. The plot is moved forward.